Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - They
may well be the most wanted, most sought after mug shots of a world leader from
the Philippines, or at least, a former world leader.
The photographs, taken frontally and sideways,
show former Philippine resident and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Arroyo
wearing a neck brace after police formally placed her under arrest for
electoral sabotage, a charge now pending in the Pasay City Regional Trial Court
Branch 112 in Metro Manila.
Soon after the Philippine Daily Inquirer
editors obtained copies of the photos Monday, the same pictures, apparently
from other sources, also appeared on the Internet on the website
"mugshots.com."
The pictures carried the captions "Cong.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo." Underneath her name were the numbers of the
criminal case against her.
It was the second time in recent history that
mug shots of an arrested Philippine leader had been taken and been circulated
publicly. In 2001, a photograph of Joseph Estrada also appeared in the media,
taken after he was detained on plunder charges.
The publication of Estrada's picture occurred,
ironically, during the Arroyo presidency.
Formal requests
Lawyers of Arroyo have asked the court not to
release the mug shots of their client, according to the clerk of court, Joel
Pelicano.
"Any party wanting to see the photos must
file an appropriate court pleading," Pelicano told reporters.
Formal requests from parties who wish to see
the pictures will be passed on to the defense lawyers for their comment before
Judge Jesus Mupas acts on the requests, Pelicano said.
The Arroyo photographs were among the
documents and other materials, including the so-called return of the arrest
warrant, which were submitted by the Philippine National Police to Mupas' sala.
The documents submitted by Senior
Superintendent Joel Coronel, head of the PNP Criminal Investigation and
Detection Group in Metro Manila, concerned not only Arroyo but also her
coaccused, former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and former
Maguindanao Election Supervisor Lintang Bedol.
Keeping watch
Coronel told reporters the release of Arroyo's
photographs to the public "will be up to the sound discretion and good
judgment of the court."
He said the former President was now under the
"care, custody and detention" of the Metro Manila police office and
the Southern Police District (SPD).
Coronel wasn't sure whether the Presidential
Security Group still provided security for Arroyo, among the perks given a
former head of state. But as far as the police were concerned, they were
keeping watch over her, he said.
Coronel also recommended Arroyo's continued
hospital detention until police doctors could evaluate her fitness to be
transferred elsewhere.
Standing
order
Court employees kept a close watch on the
folder containing the documents about Arroyo. A document custodian obliged
requests from office workers to take a peek at the photos of the former
President.
"Kawawa naman (I pity her)," the
Inquirer heard one of the employees say after seeing the pictures.
Employees turned down requests from the media
to take a look at Arroyo's mug shots.
In a phone interview later, Pelicano
reiterated that Mupas had a standing directive against the release of Arroyo's
mug shots in the face of her lawyers' requests to keep them within the court.
No
specific order
"There's no specific court order but
Judge [Mupas] directed us not to release the mug shots," he said.
"One of the defense lawyers manifested
before the court that any release of the photos will affect the constitutional
rights and interests of their client."
Any media entity seeking to publish the mug
shots now in the hands of the court must put its request in writing and file it
with the court, Pelicano said.
Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares
defended the publication of Arroyo's mug shots. In a text message, he said:
"There is no reason not to publish Gloria's mug shots, considering that
this is a public document."
With a report from Gil Cabacungan Jr.
Miko Morelos in Manila/Philippine Daily
Inquirer | ANN
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